Vanishing Birds In California

Audio

Aired 4/19/09

A new Audubon California study released Tuesday finds that the state will lose significant numbers of its native birds as climate change shrinks the range and habitat of more than 100 species. KPBS Environment Reporter Ed Joyce has details.

The state predictions are based on climate models in a national Audubon study.

That study, using data collected over the past 40 years, determined that 177 bird species in the U.S. are spending the winter farther north because of a warming world.

In California, scientists worry that the warming climate might not only force certain species to move northward, but wipe out others that are not quick to adapt.

The study also suggests that significant curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and investment in conservation can greatly reduce the damage.

The California study presents scenarios for 313 native-Californian bird species using models that predict different future climates based on low-to-high reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.